The past weeks have been characterised by various events, chief among them the continuous uncertainty brought about by struggles within the governing party. As a consequence, the Nationalist Party electoral machine has been oiled, ready to be launched in all its totality for the upcoming election.

There is little doubt that incumbency provides a significant advantage to its user- Anton Refalo

Despite all the denials from government benches, there is little doubt that the country is in election mode. The tone is raising daily, the party grassroots are being mobilised and an offensive charm has already been launched.

The party in government knows too well that there is nothing better than using all the resources available to buy time and votes. There is little doubt that incumbency provides a significant advantage to its user. People with various interests but with similar expectations flow to those who hold power and have control over government purse strings. Incumbents also carry the distinct advantage of staying in the public eye simply in the course of their duties and, perhaps more importantly, at the public expense, thereby making campaigning considerably easier.

An example of the soft power of incumbency is the recent campaign in the media launched by the government trying to project a situation in which targets, ranging from employment growth to good services in health, are seen to have been achieved over the past four years. Obviously, all expenses are being borne by the taxpayer, even at a time where, at least officially, a big effort is made to curb public recurrent expenditure. But in desperate times desperate measures are called for and all caution is thrown to the wind, with the overwhelming objective being the creation of a feel-good factor among the electorate.

During the last months, efforts were also made to project the Prime Minister as less of a party leader and more of a statesman. The evolving events in North Africa offered a perfect opportunity to launch such an exercise. Any role played by Malta was amplified and the friendly media were instructed to focus specific-ally on certain news items.

There’s nothing like a presumed high-level meeting with some important international personality to remind voters of the active part that Lawrence Gonzi was playing in safeguarding our prosperity and well-being. With a bit of effort, one can easily recall the image of the Prime Minister standing in an airplane hangar next to two Libyan Mirages, telling us that it was mainly thanks to his foresight and vision that the events in Libya turned out as they in fact did.

The lure of using the power of incumbency also proved too strong for the administration in Gozo to ignore. Recently, the annual report by the Gozo Ministry for 2011 was released with much fanfare. A document of over 50 pages, full of colourful pictures trying to sell the image of a hard-working and spectacularly high-achieving political office. Again, the non-insignificant costs of compiling, publishing and other related expenses were borne by the taxpayer.

Taking the opportunity to gain visibility in the media is understandable, but the present Administration does not limit itself to this. The use of power enjoyed by the incumbent could take a different, more aggressive form from that just outlined.

Very often, when elections are looming, especially on a local level, the use of office power leads to two outcomes. One is a higher outlay of public funds and the other one is outright abuse of the entire system.

The first consists of an increase in jobs in the public sector where well-targeted individuals are given employment even on the very eve of election day. This phenomenon is already taking place. A look at figures published by the Employment and Training Corporation clearly shows that employment with the public sector went up by 500 persons in just one year. This represents a 1.2 per cent increase, which on a local level is no mean feat indeed.

Given the precarious employment situation in Gozo, the push for votes is taking a life of its own. Employment in public administration increased from 826 to 922, a net rise of 12 per cent. A further point of interest is the fact that in sectors notoriously known for lack of human resources, namely health and education, employment actually declined.

Over the next few weeks, important elements within the public sector will be mobilised in favour of the current Administration. Few options will be left unexplored. Past practices will be revived and people will be promised all sorts of things.

Many people will ask about what the Labour Party can do when confronted with such a situation. I believe the answer is simple: credibility. Moderate people are tired of hearing the perpetual campaign rhetoric claiming that only the PN is fit to take the responsibility of governing Malta and Gozo.

While the power of incumbency is still very strong and will be an important tool at the disposal of the Administration to try to get re-elected, nowadays more and more people are becoming increasingly aware that this way of doing politics is past its date. Today, there is a tide turning against this once-sure head start.

Dr Refalo is the opposition’s spokesman on sustainable development in Gozo.